


What is and what should never be

by Captainmintyfresh



Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Bromance, M/M, Rewrite, eventually, literally just a rewrite of teen wolf if theo never went with the dread doctors, thiam endame
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-09
Updated: 2018-09-09
Packaged: 2019-07-10 08:30:26
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,336
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15945602
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Captainmintyfresh/pseuds/Captainmintyfresh
Summary: A teen wolf rewrite starting from season 1 episode 1 in which Theo never went with the dread doctors and so is still friends with Scott and Stiles.Very eventual Thiam (like...Liam won't even be in it till season 4 which will be many many words)Probably gonna be Sterek as well tbh





	What is and what should never be

It was stupid, Theo thought, to even care anymore, to still come out each year and hover in the woods like Tara would walk out from the bushes with the same easy smile he’d last seen her with. Maybe...maybe next year he wouldn’t. He’d known for years now she wasn’t coming back, had suspected it by the end of the first week when he’d overheard Stiles telling Scott the sheriff didn’t think they’d find her, not after 72 hours had been and gone and doubled.

He knew there was a death certificate for her, had prodded at it when they’d gotten it last year. Had let the sounds of his parent's sobs filter out as his eyes skimmed across her name, stark and bold against the paper. Seven years, that was apparently what it took for someone to be legally presumed dead.

He’d often thought it should be shorter. When a year had rolled around and he’d listen to his parents shouting downstairs about money for investigators and how the could still find her he wished that the could have something, a funeral, a death certificate, something to make it clear to them that she wasn’t coming home.

He knew that, he thought he knew that. So why would he end up in the same place year after year. feet dangling over the edge of the bridge as he stared into the water. What would have happened if he had gone to the woods with her like she wanted.

_Please, Theo, just an hour at the bridge? the one you like, we can race twigs._

He should have went. She’d begged him too, that alone should have been enough. She never begged him to go anywhere with her, begged him not to, sure, most days, when he Stiles and Scott would be following her around or dragging her out of piano practice to play with them instead.

But he’d had plans, and she’d had the same look in her eye that she did when he was six and she’d locked him out in a rainstorm. So he hadn’t, he’d told her to play by herself and she’d called him a butthead and he, Scott and Stiles had laughed about it when Mrs McCall came to pick him up. They’d waved through the window and Stiles had pulled faces and she left.

She never came back home. Theo’s last memory of her was watching her disappear down the road through the rearview window.

It shouldn’t have been, if he’d went with her it might not have been. Maybe he could have saved her if she was in danger, or found the way home if she’d just gotten lost. She’d never been the best with directions.

Theo sucked in a breath, glaring down at the water as raindrops splattered on its surface. He twirled a twig in his fingers, watching the water as the ripples spread.

It was pointless. Thinking about it, being here. She was gone. Eight years, eight long freaking years where he’d listened to a hundred news announcements about her. Where he’d watch his parents screaming at each other about the daughter they’d lost while they ignored the son they still had. Eight years, eight trips to the same stupid bridge that’s boards groaned when he walked on it and banisters left splinters in his hands. She’d asked him to come, and he had, eventually, too late.

Theo dropped the twig down into the water, watching as it was taken by the current, trailing slowly beneath the bridge and following it to the other side. It ran down, bobbing along in an uneven path as the ripples from the rain sent it zigzagging.

He drew his eyes from the water, looking to the forest once again, it was silent, not a soul in sight.

It would always be too late.

*

Rainwater dripped from the end of Theo’s nose as he wandered the now well-known path out of the preserve. He could forget it now, all of it, Tara, the bridge. Everything, it was over, another year down. School would start again tomorrow and things would be normal. He could push the ache in his chest down and lock it away. Hopefully, he wouldn’t have to bring it out again the next year, he’d be smart enough to forget the way back to the bridge, to leave the dead in the past where the belonged. Not pulled out so he could spend a day stewing on the pain lodged beneath his ribs like a masochist.

He’d be smarter next year.

He could forget it. Forget her.

“Theo?” Theo jumped at the voice, spinning to get an eyeful of blinding light from a torch.

“jesus-” Theo hissed, wincing back as he covered his eyes. The sheriff dropped the torch to his side, face distinctly unimpressed as he held a sheepish looking Stiles by the scruff of his jacket.

“So...Theo’s home studying is he?” The sheriff drawled.

“I did not invite him!” Stiles said quickly. “He shouldn’t be here.”

“What d you kids think is so fun about finding a body?”

“The fact it’s a freaking dead body.” Stiles exclaimed. “that’s _awesome_.”

“That’s murder.” Noah said.

“A body?” Theo felt himself repeating, the words echoed in his head, slow and quiet like they were being dragged through water. “You found a body?”

“Half of one.” Stiles said giddily.

“Stiles.” the sheriff warned before his eyes shifted back to Theo, narrowing curiously. “What the hell are you doing out here in the rain if you’re not looking for a body.”

“My..Tara, she...It’s-”

“Eight years.” Stiles finished for him. The sheriff’s frown dropped into something softer. A soft sigh passing through his lips.

“You going home now?”

“Yes sir.”

“Good, You walk here kid?”  The sheriff asked. Theo gave a dull nod. “Alright. Stiles, take Theo home.”

“Dad, come on it’s

“I haven’t grounded you yet. You really want to push it?”

“See you later daddio.” Stiles said clapping a hand on the sheriff's shoulder before he was yanking Theo towards the jeep.

“Stiles!” The sheriff called. Pausing their retreat at the last second.

“Yeah?”

“You sure Scott’s not here.”

“Positive.” Stiles grinned. Theo let himself be shoved into the passenger seat, stayed quiet as the engine rumbled to life beneath them and Stiles shot one last cheery wave at the sheriff as the left before he started talking, something about Scott actually being in the woods, about the body, but he couldn’t quite hear, even when he turned to look at Stiles, watching the way his mouth moved the words seemed distant, like he was trying to remember a dream.

“They found a body?” It was his voice again. The same one he’d used with a sheriff, where he knew it was him speaking but couldn’t figure out how it had happened.

“Yeah, Dude, Are you even listening to me?” Stiles said.

“Could it...do you think it’s her?” Theo breathed, eyeing the trees against, fingers twitching for the door handle.

“Her wh-” Stiles started. He broke off quickly, a whine of understanding breathing through the car. “No. Dude, no it’s not...It wouldn’t be her okay.”

“Do you know that?”

“Well-”

“You didn’t invite me.” Theo said. “You got Scott, why not me?”

“We secretly hate you.” Stiles said dryly.

“Stiles, if you didn’t invite me because you think it’s her then-”

“Dude no.” Stiles rushed. “that’s so...no okay. I wanted to invite you, any normal day you’d be my number one searching for a dead body buddy. I don’t think it’s her okay, really it didn’t even cross my mind that it could be. I just thought that inviting you body hunting on the anniversary of Tara going missing would be insensitive. Even for me.”

“You’ve never given a shit about being insensitive.”

“Well, even I have my limits. It’s not her, this body was super fresh, she’s probably a skeleton by now-” Theo shot stiles a glare. “That was meant to be comforting.”

“Dumbass.” Theo snorted, Letting the car fall into a silence that, for once, Stiles didn’t seem to be keen on breaking. It should feel relieving, to know it wasn’t Tara’s body, and yet..it didn’t, he felt the same ache nagging in his chest that made it that little bit harder to breathe as he did before he knew. Felt disappointed, that it wasn’t her, that she hadn’t come back. Even as a corpse. “I think..it would be cool..if it was her.” Theo said slowly, fully aware of Stiles incredulous look. “I mean, Mom and Dad, they still don’t really believe it. I do most of the time but sometimes I just...We could have a funeral, have some real closure not a sheet of paper.”

“You know, when my boa went missing we buried an empty box.” Stiles said.

“I know, you made me come to its funeral.”

“Sometimes you don’t need everything and all the answers for closure. Sometimes you just gotta do something to make it real to you. To make it make sense.”

“I know she’s dead-”

“Then prove it to yourself, don’t let someone give you a certificate and tell you it’s all over. Get a box, make your own closure.”

“Are you suggesting I bury a shoe box in honor of my dead sister?”

“I’m saying do whatever works for you, man.” Stiles said. The car lapsed into silence once again. Theo watching the rain splatter against the road and sparkle in the headlights as they drove between the towering trees.

“So you really left Scott out in the preserve alone?”

“Yep.” Stiles said, popping the p.

“You’re a great friend.”

“Screw you.” Stiles snorted. “You staying over? Dad’ll be working all night and I’m guessing we got about forty minutes before I get a very funny and very pissed off phone call from Scott.”

“Because that sounds fun.”

“Oh I’m sorry, does it not beat your plans of stewing in your own misery.”

“I get to choose the movie.”

*

Stiles was right. Theo barely had enough time to scoff down all the food Stiles had piled onto a plate for him, brush off his ‘comorting’ back rub and snap at him to stop ‘fucking mother-henning me, I’m fine’ before Scott was sending a litany of angry texts followed by one of a painful-looking bite on his hip that Stiles simply replied ‘dude that’ll leave a sweet scar!’ to.

The two settled down on Stiles’s bed, a mountain of popcorn to their side as the opening to star wars rolled across the screen.

*

Theo had planned, or at least hoped, to wake up with another time to get back to his, shower and change before school. Instead the two were woken up by the sheriff barging in with coffee and donuts telling them they’d be late if they didn’t hurry up meaning Theo was left shrugging into one of Stiles’s god awful graphic tee’s and his still damp jeans before while Stiles bitched about healthy eating and Noah ignored him in favour of shoveling a donut in his mouth.

Even with the ensuing rant and Stiles slapping a cup of coffee from Theo’s hand with a ‘You have a heart condition too asshole, jesus, do both of you want to have heart attacks?’ the two still managed to make it to school with time to pester Scott about his run-in with what was probably an angry fox.

“I’m pretty sure it was a wolf.” Scott said, pulling his t-shirt down to cover the large bandage before Stiles could poke it.

“A wolf? You think a wolf bit you?” Stiles snorted.

“Yeah.”

“No.”

“What do you mean no?”

“I mean it couldn’t have been a wolf. There haven’t been wolves in California for like sixty years.”

“Really?”

“Back me up Theo.”

“He’s right.” Theo said.

“Thank you.” Stiles grinned.

“You work at an animal clinic and want to be a vet. How do you not know about the native species?” Theo scoffed.

“Deaton talks to me about what we have at the clinic, we’ve never had a wolf so-”

“Because they don’t live here.” Stiles said.

“If it wasn’t a wolf then what was it?”

“I dunno man, a coyote?”

“Whatever it was you probably want to get a rabies shot.” Theo mused.

“It wasn’t a coyote, I heard it howl.”

“Dude, it wasn’t a wolf.” Stiles laughed.

“Well, if you don’t believe me about the wolf then you definitely not gonna believe when I tell you I found the body.”

“You found it?” Theo gaped, ducking beneath Stiles excitedly flailing instinctively.

“Are you kidding me?” Stiles hissed.

“I wish, I’m gonna have nightmares for a month.”

“That is freaking awesome! I mean seriously, it’s the best thing that ever happened in this town since-” Theo stumbled as a bag hit his side, the person carrying it drawing all of Stiles’s attention. “-since the birth of Lydia Martin. Hey, Lydia! You look..like you’re gonna ignore me.” Theo chuckled as Stiles started longingly after the girl, completely oblivious to the gaze on her back, or very good at pretending. Theo met Scott’s gaze in a synchronized dramatic eye roll

“You’re pathetic.” Theo said earnestly.

“It’s a waiting game my friend, one day she’ll realise she loves me.”

“One day she’ll get a restraining order.” Theo said. Scott snorted a laugh.

“That’s not funny, don’t encourage him.”

“I don’t think a restraining order would work.” Scott grinned. “Maybe she’ll go into witness protection.”

“You’re both assholes and I hope you really do have rabies.” Stiles grumbled, the bell rung, forcing them into movement. “You guys are the causes of this you know?” He said, gesturing aggressively as they walked through the doors to Lydia as she sashayed towards the stairs. Scott’s eyes caught Theo’s again, an amused grin on his face as he let out a soft hum of acknowledgment.

“Dragging me down into your nerd depths. I’m a nerd by association.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is gonna be a very long one guys. But it's fun to write so...yeah


End file.
